Although The Diplomat arrived with little fanfare in 2023, it has earned its place among the best shows on Netflix. For her first TV series since FX’s critically acclaimed Cold War drama, The Americans, Keri Russell was cast in the leading role as Kate Wyler, the new U.S. Ambassador to Britain. Unlike Russell’s previous role on The Americans, Kate’s not the kind of character who is going to get any action scenes. But there’s more than enough intrigue on this show to keep fans excited about its return.
And that return may be closer than you think. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to everything we know about The Diplomat season 2, including the first new cast member to join the show.
What is The Diplomat about?
In a case of art imitating reality, The Diplomat begins with high tensions between the United States and Iran, especially when the latter is seemingly behind an attack on a British aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. That’s the tumultuous situation that Kate walks into when she’s named the new U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Kate is accompanied by her husband and fellow diplomat, Hal Wyler (Rufus Sewell), whose career has stalled. More tellingly, the relationship between Kate and Hal is clearly strained. Additionally, Kate isn’t initially aware that she is under consideration to be the next Vice President of the United States of America. Assuming, of course, that Kate can keep the tensions in Britain from boiling over into an international incident that leads to a new war.
What happened in The Diplomat season 1 finale?
Kate correctly deduced that Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge was the real mastermind behind the attack at the beginning of the series in order to push the United Kingdom towards war with Iran. However, before Kate could put this knowledge to use, her husband, Hal, Deputy Chief of Mission Stuart Hayford (Ato Essandoh), office clerk Ronnie (Jess Chanliau), and MP Merritt Grove (Simon Chandler) were all caught in a car bomb explosion. Whether anyone survived that attack is the cliffhanger that The Diplomat ended its first season.
Who’s coming back for The Diplomat season 2?
Russell is reprising her role as Kate Wyler for the second season. As noted above, the cliffhanger ending left the fate of the characters portrayed by Sewell, Essandoh, Chanliau, and Chandler in doubt. However, the following cast members are likely to reappear:
- David Gyasi as Austin Dennison
- Ali Ahn as Eidra Park
- Rory Kinnear as U.K. Prime Minister Nicol Trowbridge
- Celia Imrie as Margaret Roylin
- Miguel Sandoval as Miguel Ganon
- Nana Mensah as Billie Appiah
- Michael McKean as President William Rayburn
- T’Nia Miller as Cecilia Dennison
Who’s joining the cast of The Diplomat season 2?
So far, Netflix has only announced a single cast addition for The Diplomat season 2, but it’s a big one. Allison Janney has signed on to play Grace Penn, the Vice President of the United States of America. Vice President Penn was mentioned a few times during the first season. And if the efforts to make Kate the new Vice President are successful, then she is the woman whom Kate will replace under President Rayburn.
Janney is best known for playing C. J. Cregg on The West Wing, as well as for her leading role as Bonnie Plunkett on the sitcom, Mom. Janney won Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama and Best Actress in a Drama for The West Wing, in addition to a win for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy for Mom. Additionally, Janney won Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards in 2019 for her role in I, Tonya.
When will The Diplomat season 2 premiere?
Despite the fact that six months of production time were lost in 2023 to the writers and actors strikes, Netflix has good news for fans of The Diplomat. Netflix has indicated that The Diplomat season 2 will premiere in 2024. Regardless, we believe a late 2024 return is more likely than a summer premiere for the show.
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